- The Nire Valley Drop returns on 11 July 2026 with two route options.
- Participants choose the 50km mountain bike or 80km gravel challenge.
- The event integrates with the wider Comeraghs Wild Festival programme.
- Additional activities cover yoga, walks, workshops and heritage displays.
- Music performances and storytelling sessions complete the festival schedule.
Organisers have opens entries for the Nire Valley Drop 2026 that takes place on Saturday 11 July as part of the Comeraghs Wild Festival. The event offers a 50km mountain bike course and an 80km Gravel Grinder challenge with optional shortcut sections around Ballymacarbry and the foothills of the Comeragh Mountains. The routes cater for a range of abilities.
The Nire Valley Drop forms part of a four-day festival programme that includes Zen in the Park sessions, guided walks, a cyanotype workshop, sheep shearing demonstrations and a 100 Years of Kilmac exhibition. Music performances feature The Frank and Walters and Ruaile Buaile on 10 July and Duke Special on 12 July. The festival concludes with An Evening of Song and Story at Woodhouse Estate.
Johnny Brunnock shared “There are few places where you encounter nature on your bike and where you can challenge nature.”
